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[A]re you becoming more loving, joyful and winsome? It’s a wonderful, challenging question asked by pastor and author John Ortberg. In today’s guest post by my friend Alan Fadling, you’ll be encouraged to consider how you are becoming more loving, joyful and winsome as a follower of Christ. Alan graciously agreed to share his notes from a recent message given by John Ortberg at the Pastor’s Forum hosted by the Center for Individual and Family Therapy (CIFT). Dallas Willard had been scheduled to speak, but a recent surgery and slower than expected recovery meant he was unable to attend. Alan’s blog is An Unhurried Life, which I read regularly and highly recommend. (FYI, this is an article length post.) John’s words and Alan’s notes provoked this question in me, “As I rest in the grace of Jesus, am I becoming more loving, joyful, and winsome?”

[W]hat does picking 6,000 avocados teach you about being a spiritually fruitful person? For starters, climbing ladders, snipping avocado after avocado, and getting on your knees for low-hanging fruit can teach you a lot about being spiritually fruitful…if you’re willing to listen the Master Grower. For the past two days, I’ve been down at our 12 acre organic lemon and avocado grove that is owned by The Grove Center for the Arts & Media, the non-profit ministry I serve. It’s picking season and the trees are covered with fruit. Picking fruit by myself and enjoying the beauty of countryside around me gave me a lot of time to think about my own life. Snipping one avo after another made me wonder, “What would my life be like if I was THIS fruitful?” Read on…

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Thank you for visiting Art, Life & Faith. My goal is to help you cultivate a more beautiful life. I am the author of twenty books, a screenwriter, artist, creative coach, retreat speaker and the Executive Director of The Grove Center for the Arts & Media. With an M.A. in Leadership Development, I write about creativity, the arts, spiritual formation, and leadership.